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The Olympic Events

Event #Parti-cipants

Prior Construction

Materials Available

Points1st

Points 2nd

Points3rd

Points4th

Points 5th

Myspace.void 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

Marshmallow Engineering 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

Simply Irresistance-able 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

Linear Accelerator 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

Name that Note 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

Crash Test Dummies 5 yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

MPTM 5 yes Before games 6 5 4 3 2

Jump 2 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

Slow Bike Race 2 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

Fermi Questions 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

Olympic Video 5 yes Before games 4 3 2

Olympic Theme Song 5 yes Before games 3 2 1

The Decimeter Cantilever 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

Pole Position 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

Naked Egg Eggsposed 5 yes Before games 6 5 4 3 2

Palm Pipe Opus 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

The Sinking Ship 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

The Yolk’s on You 5 possibly At games 5 4 3 2 1

The Egg Bouncer 5 yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

The Longest Glide 5 yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

Pringle Crunch 5 Yes Before games 5 4 3 2 1

Hit the Wall 5 No At games 6 5 4 3 2

Give Me a Lift 5 No At games 6 5 4 3 2

Galilean Decoder 5 No At games 6 5 4 3 2

Phalling Tower of Physics 5 No At games 5 4 3 2 1

Whirl and Hurl 5 Yes At games 5 4 3 2 1

Bernoulli’s Cannon 5 Yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

BPUV 5 Yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

Making Restitution 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

Mass Finder 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

Keep it Hot! 5 yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

Gutter Floater 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

Coathook Cannon 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

Faraday Pickup 5 yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

Mentos Powered Car 5 yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

Weigh Up High 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

It’s Electric 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

There’s a Hole in My Bucket 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

Aquarium Shoot 5 no At games 6 5 4 3 2

The Vortex Cannon 5 yes At games 5 4 3 2 1

The Egg Slug 5 yes At games 5 4 3 2 1

Hovercraft 5 yes At games 6 5 4 3 2

The Concentrator 5 yes At games 5 4 3 2 1

Power Lifter 5 yes Before games 6 5 4 3 2

Mirror Madness 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

MPAV 5 yes Before games 6 5 4 3 2

Physics House of Cards 5 no At games 5 4 3 2 1

You’re in Hot Water Now 5 yes At games 5 4 3 2 1

Filizzi’s Last Span 5 yes Before games 6 5 4 3 2

MPTR 5 yes Before games 6 5 4 3 2

Olympic Visual/Musical Arts 5 yes Before games 3 2 1

* Video and theme song are optional events which, if produced, must be presented to the Olympic Committee by 3:00 PM on Wednesday, February 11, in room 215 or 217.

Specific Event Descriptions and Rules

I. Myspace.void: Determine the radius of an unknown spherical void inside a sphere of uniform density.

Materials Provided: Sphere with unknown void, excess material from which sphere is constructed, ruler, tape measure, balance, string

Time Limit: Five minutes

Description: A spherical “void” (negligible mass) will be placed at the center of a rectangular prism constructed from an unknown material of uniform density. A fixed quantity of the material used to construct the rectangular prism will be provided for teams to investigate the nature of the material. Using only the provided materials, teams must determine the radius of the void.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams having the five lowest differences between the predicted and actual radius of the spherical void.

Physics Connection: Density

Planning: Research density, volume, and circumference equations.

II. Marshmallow Engineering: Construct a bridge using an unlimited number of provided toothpicks, uncooked spaghetti, and mini-marshmallows to span a 30 cm chasm and support the greatest load per unit mass of building materials.

Materials Provided: Round wooden toothpicks, mini-marshmallows, uncooked spaghetti,

Time Limit: 5 minutes

Description: A 30-cm chasm will be created between two desks. The constructed bridge must be entirely supported by the two desks without use of adhesives or other outside materials. No part of the bridge may touch the floor, team members, or any other surface. Marshmallows may not be melted, moistened, or heated. Marshmallows, toothpicks, and spaghetti may be broken as needed for construction purposes.

Teams will have 3 minutes to construct the bridge, after which the judge will measure its total mass. Teams will then place the bridge across the chasm. Teams will attach slotted 100-gram masses to the bridge, one at a time, until the bridge fails. The entire surfaces of all masses must be located within the middle 15 cm of the span. Masses may be loaded on top of the bridge or attached to toothpicks using the slots. After each mass is added, the bridge will undergo a 5-second evaluation period to check for failure. Failure is defined as occurring when any part(s) of the bridge drop into the chasm or any masses drop into the chasm.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest scores as determined by the following formula:

Score=¿ of 100 g masses(mass of bridge)2

Physics Connection: Stress and strain, static equilibrium

Planning: Practice using your own materials

III. Simply Irresistance-able: Given a piece of conductive paper of known resistance, cut a new piece of paper to match a specified resistance.

Materials Provided: 1 cm x 14 cm sample strip of conductive paper, sheet of conductive paper, scissors, ohmmeter, bulldog clips, ruler


Description: Each team will be given a 1 cm x 14 cm sample strip of conductive paper. They will connect bulldog clips (of negligible resistance) to the paper 1 cm from each edge so that the distance between clips is 12 cm (see below).

They will use a digital ohmmeter to measure the resistance of the strip (to three significant figures) by touching the meter probes to the bulldog clips. They will also be given the sheet of paper from which the sample strip was cut (the sheet has 1 cm x 1 cm grid lines). Based

upon the sample strip measurement, they will need to determine the size strip of paper to cut from this sheet to match a value that will be given to them (and different from that of the sample strip). They must allow a one cm length at each end of the new strip to connect to the bulldog clips. Also, the new strip must be at least 2 cm wide for at least 2 cm of its length. The cut piece

Desk

Middle 15 cm

Desk

30 cm

12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm12 cm

must be a single strip (separate pieces may not be connected together in any way). After cutting the strip, the group must attach the bulldog clips prior to judging. They may not use the ohmmeter at any time other than for the measurement of the original sample strip. The judge will then measure the resistance of the new strip.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest differences between the specified resistance and that measured by the judge.

Physics Connection: Electrical resistance

Planning: Research factors affecting the resistance of a conductor.

IV. Linear Accelerator: Walk with a uniform acceleration of 0.5 m/s2 over a linear distance of 4.0 m.

Materials Provided: Marked 4.0 m course, stopwatch, acceleration measuring apparatus


Description: Each team member will be given one opportunity to walk a 4.0 m, linear course, starting from rest, attempting to achieve a uniform acceleration of 0.5 m/s2. Computer hardware/software will be used to plot a graph of velocity versus time. The slope of the best-fit line over the 4.0 m course will be determined, along with the correlation coefficient. The score for each team member will be determined by the following formula:

|slope−0 .5|correlation coefficient

The lowest score for any of the five team members for will be the team score. Teams with fewer than five members are limited to one attempt per team member.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest team scores as described above.

Physics Connection: Kinematics

Planning: Research kinematics equations and practice walking with uniform acceleration.

V. Name that Note: Determine the frequency of the output of an audio signal generator.

Materials Provided: Amplified signal generator (set at unknown frequency), speaker, open glass cylinder, closed glass cylinder, water, meterstick, calipers, thermometer


Description: Using only the materials provided, determine the frequency (in hertz) at which the signal generator is set. Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five smallest differences between the predicted and actual signal generator frequencies.

Physics Connection: Resonance, standing waves in closed pipes, speed of sound, relationship between wave speed, frequency, and wavelength

Planning: Practice with tuning forks and glass cylinders. Research equations for standing waves in closed pipes and the speed of sound in dry air.

VI. Crash Test Dummies: Build a vehicle which transports and protects its passengers as they travel down an inclined ramp, across a level floor, and crash into a wall.

Materials Provided: Ramp, floor surface, wall, two large raw chicken egg passengers, string, scissors

Time Limit: Five minutes to prepare passengers for journey

Description: The vehicle may be made only from wood or paper, except for the wheels, axles, and connecting hardware. Glue, staples, nails, or similar fasteners may be used in the construction for the purposes of holding the parts together. The vehicle, including its passengers, may be no more than 15 cm in height. The length must be less than 30 cm, and the width may not exceed the length. The vehicle must carry two large, raw chicken eggs whose top must be visible to the judges at all times. The eggs will be held in place by a 40 cm length piece of string provided by the judges (the seatbelt). The seatbelt must not be directly fastened to the eggs by any means (including glue or tape). The restraint system must be designed such that when the seatbelt is removed, the passengers will immediately fall out of their seats when the car is inverted (in other words, the seatbelt must be the primary means of restraint). The front and top surfaces of both eggs must be completely exposed, so that they are restrained only by the seatbelt (provided string). The other sides of the eggs may be touching wood or paper.

The car’s length and mass (prior to the addition of passengers) will be measured. The car will be released from rest at the top of a 245 cm x 40 cm ramp inclined at 10˚ to the horizontal. Walls (6 cm high) will be located on each side of the ramp to prevent the vehicle from sliding off. When the car reaches the bottom of the ramp, it will travel a horizontal distance of 1.50 m along a level floor until encountering a solid wall.

The wall will consist of three sections, with the center section having a value of w = 2 and the end sections having a value of w = 1, with the w value being determined by which section of the wall the car strikes. The speed (v) of the car will be determined on the level section just before the car strikes the wall. The team score will be determined by the following formula:

ewvm2l2

,

where e is the egg coefficient (2 if both eggs intact, 1 if either/both eggs cracked but not broken, 0 if either egg is broken), w is the wall value, v is the speed, m is the empty car mass, and l is the car length (measured from bumper to bumper).

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest scores for a single journey.

Physics Connection: Impulse and momentum

Planning: Build and test car designs using your own eggs.

VII. MPTM (Mousetrap Powered Tape Measure): Build a vehicle that will travel exactly three meters along a level, tiled floor surface using a provided mousetrap as its only power source.

Materials Provided: One mousetrap (must be obtained from the Olympic committee)

Time Limit: Two minutes to prepare vehicle for launch

Description: All construction must be completed prior to the event. The only energy source permitted is the mousetrap spring, which may be altered in any way. The vehicle must travel as a complete unit (the mousetrap must travel with the vehicle). The vehicle must start under its own power and may have to cross over floor tape. Each team will be given two attempts, with the best attempt counting as the score. The team will designate a point on the vehicle to be used for a measurement reference. This point will be marked and aligned with the edge of a starting line on the floor. The linear distance from the start line to the finish line will be 4.0 meters. The width of the course will be 1.5 m. Any vehicle that goes out of bounds will be disqualified.

ramp

floor wall

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five shortest straight-line distances from the marked reference point on the vehicle to the edge of the finish line on the floor after the vehicle has come to a complete stop.

Physics Connection: Conservation of energy

Planning: Design, build, and test vehicle using provided mousetrap spring and other materials you provide..

VIII. Jump!: Jump off of a chair onto a platform (force plate) such that the maximum impact force per unit body weight is minimized.

Materials Provided: Force plate, computer, chair

Time Limit: Three minutes

Description: Two of the five team members will jump off of a 45 cm high chair onto a force plate located on the floor, a horizontal distance of 30 cm away from the near edge of the chair. A computer will be used to measure the maximum force of impact for each team member. The weight of each of the two team members will also be measured. The ratio of maximum impact force to weight will then be computed for each of the two team members. The team score will be computed by adding the two ratios together. At no time during the jump may any part of the person’s body (or anything touching the person’s body) contact the floor, ceiling, wall, etc.) Also, any jump that does not result in a landing near the approximate center of the force plate will be repeated.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest scores. Only one jump will be permitted per team member.

Physics Connection: Impulse and momentum, conservation of energy

Planning: Practice jumping lightly!

IX. Slow Bike Race: Ride a bicycle over a fixed course in the longest interval of time.

Materials Provided: One bicycle.

Time Limit: None

Description: The course will be 15 m long and 0.75 m wide. The course will not be sloped, and will be clearly marked. No part of the competitor's body (or anything touching the competitor’s body, other than the bicycle itself) may touch the floor at any time during the race. The bicycle must maintain forward motion and stay completely within course boundaries at all times. Each team will be given two attempts to complete the course (same or different riders), with the longest time being recorded. Additional apparatus may be added to the rider, but not to the

bicycle.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to teams with the longest times.

Physics Connection: Conservation of angular momentum, stability, and center of gravity

Planning: Practice using your own bicycle. Experiment with modifying the rider in some manner.

X. Fermi Questions: Estimate the order of magnitude of a quantity which is difficult or impossible to measure.

Materials Provided: List of Fermi questions


Description: Each team will be provided with a list of Fermi questions. A single sheet of answers will be submitted by each team. All answers must be recorded in order of magnitude format (e.g., 104, not 3 x 104). No calculators or reference materials may be used.

Judging: Ten points will be awarded for each correct answer and one point will be deducted for each order of magnitude the answer differs from the accepted. The minimum score per question is zero. First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest scores on the test.

Physics Connection: Estimation, orders of magnitude

Planning: Example question: "How many drops of water are there in Lake Erie?" Team would need to estimate the volume of one drop and, knowing the approximate dimensions of Lake Erie, estimate its volume. Divide volume of lake by volume of one drop (use the factor-label method), make sure units are consistent, and round answer to the nearest order of magnitude. Practice multiplying and dividing orders of magnitude without the use of a calculator. XI. Olympic Video: Produce a five-minute video which teaches some physics concept/application at the high school level.

Materials Provided: Physics apparatus as requested and available


Description: This is an optional event, which will provide the top video teams with additional team points, as outlined in “The Olympic Events” table. Videos must be turned into the committee (room 215 or 217) by Wednesday, February 11. Acceptable video formats are MPEG, .wmv, .avi, or .mov (please use raw video format—do not convert to DVD). Videos will be judged prior to the games and shown to any interested students during the day 1 events. To aide the judges, each video lesson should begin with at statement of the lesson objective(s).

Students may choose to teach any topic/application of physics which would be appropriate for physics classes at Dallastown High School. They may use any method/style of presentation to accomplish this goal (e.g., traditional lecture, demonstration, experiment, drama, etc.). Videos containing or implying profanity of any type or inappropriate dress will be disqualified.

Judging: Videos will be judged based upon the following criteria:

technical quality (quality of props, audio/video clarity, acting ability): 25 pts. entertainment value (holds viewers attention, fun to watch): 25 pts.educational value (quantity/quality of material taught, teaching techniques): 25 pts.physics value (depth and correctness of the physics): 25 pts.

First through third place awards will be given to the teams with the top three scores for their videos.

Physics Connection: Any physics topic!

Planning: Be watching (videos, classroom, etc.) for creative ways to teach physics!

XII. Olympic Theme Song: Compose and produce a musical recording that promotes the study of physics and/or the physics Olympics.

Materials Provided: None

Time Limit: None

Description: This is an optional event, which will provide the top teams with additional team points, as outlined in “The Olympic Events” table. Songs must be between one and three minutes in length and recorded as a CD audio file. A written transcript of the song lyrics must also be provided. All songs must be turned into the committee (room 215 or 217) by Wednesday, February 11. They will be judged prior to the games and played as deemed appropriate by the Olympic committee. They may use any artistic style of presentation to accomplish the goal of promoting the study of physics. Songs containing or implying profanity will be disqualified.

Judging: Songs will be judged based upon the following criteria:

promotional value of lyrics: 25 pts. musical/recording quality: 25 pts. Creativity: 25 pts.

First through third place awards will be given to the teams with the top three scores for their song.

Physics Connection: Promote the study of physics.

Planning: Design and create song.

XIII. The Decimeter Cantilever: Construct the longest cantilever using a fixed quantity of plastic drinking straws and transparent tape.

Materials Provided: 50 plastic drinking straws, 1 roll of transparent tape, scissors


Description: Straws may be connected together in any configuration (using only tape and scissors provided) such that when the first 10 cm of the cantilever is held on the edge of a one-meter high horizontal table, the greatest horizontal distance extends from the edge of the table. No part of the cantilever may touch the floor or be supported in any way other than the 10 cm length which rests on the table surface. Only one straw may contact the table surface and must be held down by a single team-member’s hand. Distance will be measured horizontally from the edge of the table to the farthermost extremity of the cantilever. Teams may attempt as many designs as possible within the allotted time.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five longest measured horizontal distances for their cantilevers.

Physics Connection: Static equilibrium

Planning: Design/construct a cantilever using your own materials.

XIV. Pole Position: Direct a bar magnet through a given course in the least amount of time using only repulsive forces from another bar magnet.

Materials Provided: Two bar magnets (approximately 15.5 cm x 1 cm each), marked course


Description: A bar magnet will be directed through a course laid out on the floor, whose width will be the width of a single floor tile (approximately 30-cm). The exact edges of the course will be marked by tape. The course will consist of straight and curved and/or turn sections. The magnet to be moved will be placed with its front edge on a starting line and a stopwatch will be started at a verbal signal given by the judge. The magnet will then be propelled through the course by another identical bar magnet operated by one of the team members.

The two magnets may not physically contact each other at any time. Also, no part of the magnet being directed through the course may contact the boundary tape at any time. Either of these errors will result in the magnet being returned to the start position without restarting the stopwatch. Timing will end when the entire magnet has passed the finish line. A team may repeat the course as many times as time permits during the allotted five minutes, with only the

lowest time being recorded. However, each attempt must be fully completed before beginning a new attempt (i.e., a team may not restart the clock without first completing the course). Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest times to complete the course.

Physics Connection: magnetic forces, ferromagnetism, friction

Planning: Practice using your own bar magnets.

XV. Naked Egg Eggsposed: Mail a single naked egg through the U.S. Mail and have it arrive with the egg intact.

Materials Provided: One large, grade A, naked chicken egg (if desired, or provide your own)

Time Limit: Five minutes to remove egg from package

Description: A rectangular package must be designed with minimum dimensions of 9.0 cm x 13 cm x 1.0 cm. Packages under the minimum dimensions will be disqualified. A single naked egg may be obtained from the Olympic committee or any other source, provided it is a large, grade A chicken egg. A naked egg is created by soaking a raw chicken egg in vinegar or diluted acetic acid until the shell has been completely removed (this process takes at least 2-3 days, so plan ahead). The egg may not be altered in any way and its shell membrane must remain intact.

The naked egg must be double-wrapped, enclosed inside nested leak-proof containers (e.g., Tupperware, zip-lock bags, etc.) The package may not be marked “fragile” or “hand cancel.” It must be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service using First Class Mail. It must be postmark dated no later than February 19, 2013. It must be mailed to the following address:

Physics Olympics CommitteeHolliday High School

P.O. Box 947Holliday, TX 76366

The return address on the package must include the team name.

On the first day of the Olympics, teams will have five minutes to open their packages and eggspose the egg. The naked egg will be inspected by the judges for remnants of its calcium carbonate shell. Teams will then place their egg on the tray of a scale so its mass can be measured. A naked egg that is too fragile to survive the unpacking, inspection, or weighing will be judged as having failed to survive. Teams with non-surviving eggs or shell remnants will be disqualified. Teams whose eggs are not at least double-wrapped using nested leak-proof containers will also be disqualified.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the qualifying teams having the five lowest scores as determined by the following formula:

Score=(mass of package ) (volume of package )

Physics Connection: Impulse and Momentum

Planning: Practice building packages and mailing naked eggs

XVI. Palm Pipe Opus: Cut plastic pipe to the correct lengths to play a simple tune when tapped against the palm of the hand.

Materials Provided: 5 feet of ½ inch diameter plastic PVC pipe, hack-saw, meter stick, musical score (written in such a way as to be read by anyone), thermometer


Description: Teams must cut PVC pipe into four sections of the correct lengths to play four specific frequencies (notes) when one end is tapped against the palm of the hand. After the pipes have been cut, students will “play” each individually for the judge, who will use electronic instrumentation to determine the actual frequency. The team members will have the remaining time to practice using the four pipes to play an assigned song using these notes. The team will later perform the song using their pipes before a live audience.

Judging: Judging will consist of both physical and artistic components. For the physical part, the score will be determined using the following formula:

score=100−|Given Frequency−Measured Frequency| ,

for each pipe. A combined physical score will be determined by adding the scores for each of the pipes.

For the artistic part, each team will perform the same song (one conductor, four players per team). Judging will be based upon timing, relative pitch, dynamics, and stage presence for a maximum score of 100. First through fifth place awards for the event will be based upon the five highest total scores for the two judging components.

Physics Connection: Closed-pipe resonance

Planning: Research equations for resonance frequency for a closed pipe. Practice playing pipes, using your own materials.

XVII. The Sinking Ship: Predict the maximum load that a solid, rectangular Styrofoam barge can support without sinking.

Materials Provided: Rectangular Styrofoam barge, digital balance, ruler, wet pennies, water-filled tank.


Description: Each team will determine the dimensions of the provided boat to find the volume of water it can displace. They will also measure the mass of the empty boat. Using this information, they will predict the maximum safe load the boat will be able to support without sinking (defined as the point at which water first begins to spill over the top surface of the boat). After measuring this mass of pennies on the balance, they will begin loading them onto the boat. Team members must load the entire predicted mass of pennies onto the boat. They may load them one at a time, or all at once, and may place them at any desired location on the top surface of the boat. If, at any time, water begins to cover the top surface of the boat, the team will be disqualified. Provided pennies will be wet. If teams wish to dry them before use, they may do so provided they don’t exceed the 5 –minute time limit.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest predicted penny loads that do not sink the boat.

Physics Connection: Archimedes Principle

Planning: Test buoyancy principles using your own boat and pennies.

XVIII: The Yolk’s On You: Toss a raw egg back and forth the greatest number of consecutive times in one minute

Materials Provided: one large, raw chicken egg

Time Limit: 1 minute

Description: Two team members will begin by standing on lines which are 3 m apart. One team member will toss a raw egg to the second, who will attempt to catch it. The team member making the successful catch will then back up to the next line (0.5 m back) and toss the egg back to the first team member. Each time a successful catch is made, the team member making the catch will back up 0.5 m to the next line before tossing again, until the participants are 10 m apart. At this point, they will remain 10 m apart for the remainder of the tosses. Both participants must have both feet on the appropriate line at all times during tossing and catching. If either participant’s foot is removed at any time, the team will receive whatever score they had up to that point. Likewise, if the egg touches the ground or breaks at any point, the team will receive whatever score they had up to that point. Teams may design and use a “catching device,” provided no part of it touches the ground and its greatest dimension is no more than 0.5 m.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest numbers of consecutive completed catches during the one-minute period.


Planning: Design/construct catching devices and practice tossing and catching eggs.

XIX. The Egg Bouncer: Package a raw chicken egg such that when dropped from an approximate height of four meters onto the floor, the package bounces the greatest vertical distance without cracking the egg.

Materials Provided: One large, raw chicken egg

Time Limit: A maximum of four minutes will be allowed to insert the egg in the package and prepare it for competition.

Description: After teams package the egg, a judge will drop the package (from rest) such that its lowest point is approximately four meters above the floor. Teams may instruct the judge as to their desired orientation of the package before release, and the package will be released at the team’s signal. The maximum dimensions of the package may not exceed 50 cm in any one direction. The only allowable energy source for the package is its gravitational potential energy relative to the floor (no compressed springs, explosives, etc.) Each team will be given only one attempt. The package must remain intact as a single unit at all times. The package must be opened and the unbroken egg produced within two minutes of impact with the ground.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the entries which travel the greatest vertical distance (remaining unbroken) as measured from the floor to the lowest part of the package at its maximum rebound height. Any team whose egg cracks or whose package does meet the above specifications will be disqualified from this event.

Physics Connection: Impulse and momentum, conservation of energy

Planning: Design, build, and test package to house egg.

XX. The Longest Glide: Construct a glider that will travel the greatest horizontal distance when released from a given height above the floor.

Materials Provided: Launching platform with release mechanism, tape measure

Time Limit: Six minutes

Description: Each team will design and build a glider aircraft (gravity is the only source of energy input). The glider must fly as unit, and may not be connected to any other structures. No parts of the glider (wings, fuselage, etc.) may be commercially designed for aircraft use. Gliders may be built from any materials, provided the glider does not exceed a maximum wingspan or overall length of 40 cm.

The glider will be dropped from a height of approximately 4 m. The dropping apparatus will consist of a clothespin with foam pads inside the jaws. There must be some portion of the glider designated as the attachment site for the dropping apparatus. It must be 1 mm – 5 mm thick and

must be easily attachable to the clothespin. When dropped, the dropping apparatus will be held such that the clothespin is in a vertical position, jaws down. Teams may attach gliders at any orientation to the clothespin they desire, but judges will perform the release.

Judging: Each team will be given two attempts, with the best attempt being recorded. In the event that the glider strikes the launching platform on its descent, that launch attempt will be disqualified. First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest straight line, horizontal distances from the clothespin position to the point on the glider where the clothespin was attached when it first strikes the floor.

Physics Connection: Newton’s laws of motion, fluid dynamics

Planning: Design, build, and test glider.

XXI. Pringle Crunch: Mail a single Pringle potato chip through the U.S. Mail and have it arrive in one whole piece.

Materials Provided: One Pringle potato chip

Time Limit: Five minutes to unpackage chip

Description: A rectangular package must be designed with minimum dimensions of 9.0 cm x 13 cm x 1.0 cm. Packages under the minimum dimensions will be disqualified. A single Pringle may be obtained from the Olympic committee or any other source, provided it is a standard, original style/flavor Pringle. The Pringle may not be altered in any way to increase its strength. To prevent the addition of foreign materials, chips will be weighed by judges and eaten by team members after unpackaging.

The package may not be marked “fragile” or “hand cancel.” It must be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service using First Class Mail. It must have a postmark dated no later than February 21, 2012. It must be mailed to the following address:

Physics Olympics CommitteeHolliday High School

P.O. Box 947Holliday, TX 76366

The return address on the package must include the team name.

On the first day of the Olympics, teams will have five minutes to open their packages and remove the chip. If the chip is unbroken, it will be weighed and then eaten by a team member. Teams with broken chips, teams who refuse to eat their chips, and teams with chips of altered mass will be disqualified.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the qualifying teams having the five

lowest scores as determined by the following formula:

Score=(mass of package ) (volume of package )


Planning: Practice building packages and mailing chips

XXII. Hit the Wall: Predict the impact location of a projectile fired at a wall.

Materials Provided: Projectile launcher, ball, ramrod, protractor, tape measure, target


Description: A spring-loaded projectile launcher will be elevated above the floor at a predetermined height and predetermined horizontal distance from a wall. Given the fact that the ball will be launched horizontally at a known initial velocity (as it leaves the launcher) and by measuring other distances, teams will calculate the point of impact where the ball will strike the wall. They will mark this position with the target. Judges will then fire the projectile towards the wall, and record its point of impact on carbon paper.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five smallest vertical distances between the predicted target location and the actual point of impact.

Physics Connection: projectile motion, free-fall, two-dimensional kinematics

Planning: Practice projectile motion problems and launches.

XXIII: Give Me a Lift: Attach a load to a helium-filled balloon so that it requires the greatest amount of time to reach the ceiling.

Materials Provided: Helium-filled balloon with attached paper clip, ballast material (of known area-density), metric tape measure, digital balance


Description: Students will be given a helium-filled balloon with a volume of approximately 7000 cm³. The mass of the balloon will be approximately 3 g, and the mass of the attached paper clip will be approximately 1 g (students may use the tape measure and balance to determine dimensions more exactly.) Students will also be given the area density of aluminum foil, which will be used as the ballast material (load) for the balloon. By calculating the buoyant force on the balloon, students will determine how much additional mass can be attached to it while still maintaining upward motion. Knowing this and the area density of the foil, they will determine the area of foil to be attached to the balloon’s paper clip (they will have 4 minutes to do this, but may not attach the foil until instructed to do so). After attaching the foil, judges will release the balloon from a fixed height above the floor (no practice releases will be allowed). The time

required from release until the balloon first contacts the ceiling will be measured.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest times for the balloon to reach the ceiling. If a balloon does not reach the ceiling within 3 minutes of the time release, that team will be disqualified from this event.

Physics Connection: Archimedes’s principle, buoyant force

Planning: Experiment with your own materials.

XXIV. Galilean Decoder: Using two provided converging lenses to create a “telescope,” read a message located a given distance away.

Materials Provided: Two converging lenses (focal lengths provided), optical bench (for mounting lenses), tape measure, “secret” message


Description: A “secret” message will be located 10.0 m from a system of two lenses. The message will be inverted (upside down), and too small to be deciphered with the naked eye. A converging lens having a focal length of +20.0 cm will be fixed at a distance of 10.0 m from the message. A second converging lens, having a focal length of +10.0 cm, will be covered with an opaque material. Teams must position this lens at the correct location on the optical bench to provide a magnification of +20 for this lens. The opaque covering will be removed after the lens is positioned, and teams will look into the +10.0 cm focal length lens, as shown below. After this occurs, the lens position may not be altered.

The clock will be started after the judge shows the team the apparatus, gives them the covered lens, and directs them to begin. Timing will be stopped after the message has been read correctly in its entirety by the team. Any team that is unable to read all or part of the message will be disqualified. Multiple team members may attempt to read the message, but the lenses may not be moved from their original positions.

The distance between the two lenses will be measured and compared to the correctly calculated distance for the given information. The absolute value of the difference between these two values will be used along with the measured time in the following score formula, where t = time and D = difference:

Secret Message

f = + 20.0 cmf = + 10.0 cm

eye 10.0 m

Score=( D+0 .1 ) t

No other optical devices (other than standard, properly worn, vision correcting lenses) may be used.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest team scores as described above.

Physics Connection: Optics

Planning: Research thin lens equations and systems of multiple lenses.

XXV. Phalling Tower of Physics: To cause a block to land in the collapse zone as far away from the base of a tower as possible.

Materials Provided: 39 wooden blocks and one block with an attached string


Description: Build a tower consisting of only the blocks given to you. One of the blocks will have a string tied around it. Upon completion of your structure, it must be made to fall by pulling on the string attached to the block. To practice, you may build and destroy as many towers as you wish in the time allotted. However, the collapse that determines your score must be observed and measured by an Event Judge.

The base of the tower must be entirely behind the taped line. The string must be pulled in a direction opposite to the collapse zone (The collapse zone is defined as the area beyond the taped line behind which your tower must be built.) The tower cannot be touched while undergoing collapse. No additional materials are allowed (e.g. Glue, tape etc.) The block with the attached string must be located somewhere within the tower structure. Any collapse not induced by pulling the string will not be counted.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five greatest distances measured perpendicularly from the taped line to the furthest edge of the furthest block within the collapse zone.

Physics Connection: Center of gravity, stability, static equilibrium

Collapse ZoneTower Base

Taped Line

Planning: Practice with your own blocks and string

XXVI. Whirl and Hurl: Two students will toss a ball back and forth the greatest consecutive number of times, during a time allotted, while seated in a rotating frame of reference.

Materials Provided: turntable with attached wooden plank, racquetball

Time Limit: 1 minute

Description: Two team members will sit at opposite ends of a wooden plank (behind a specified line) that has been fastened to a turntable. After equalizing torques to balance the plank, one team member will be given the ball. The judges will then set the turntable into motion and start the clock. The two team members must toss the racquetball back and forth to each other successively while the turntable is rotating while remaining behind the line at all times. Judges will count each time the ball is successfully caught during the one-minute period. No gloves or other catching devices may be used (only standard street-attire will be permitted). If the ball is dropped, the other team members (who must stay behind a designated circle) may recover it and toss it to one of the rotating members. When this occurs, the count will return to zero and be incremented when the next successful catch occurs. At no time may the turntable’s rotation be slowed or stopped by any means other than normal friction and air-resistance. Any team member who touches the floor, falls off the plank, or otherwise lowers the rotation rate will result in the count being reset to zero. If the speed of the turntable drops significantly due to any external forces, the judges will provide additional torque at their discretion.

Judging: The highest consecutive number of catches at any time during the one-minute period will be the team’s score. First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest scores. All teams with tying scores for place positions will engage in 30 s rounds to determine the top five places.

Physics Connection: inertia, relative motion, circular motion

Planning: Practice using your own materials.

XXVII. Bernoulli’s Canon: Design a canon that uses a provided electric leaf blower to launch a projectile of your choice the greatest horizontal distance.

Materials Provided: One electric leaf blower with attached plastic tube

Time Limit: One minute to prepare for launch

Description: An electric leaf blower with attached blower tube (rectangular with rounded corners, approximate dimensions 3.5 cm x 7.5 cm) will be the only power source for launching the projectile. The end of the leaf blower must make contact with the ground at all times during the launch. Teams may design and build any device to attach to the provided leaf blower and may launch any projectile of any size or mass of their choosing. The entire launching device and leaf blower must be entirely supported by team members. The entire launching device must

remain behind the launch line at all times. Teams will have two attempts to launch their projectile the greatest horizontal distance from the launch line, with the best of the two attempts counting as the score.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five greatest distances measured perpendicularly from the launch line to the point at which the part of the projectile nearest the launch line first strikes the ground.

Physics Connection: Impulse and momentum, work and energy, projectile motion

Planning: Design, build, and test canon using your own leaf blower..XXVIII. BPUV (Balloon Powered Utility Vehicle): Design a vehicle to travel the greatest horizontal distance along the floor using only the energy from an inflated balloon.

Materials Provided: One 12” balloon, tape measure

Time Limit: One minute to prepare BPUV for launch

Description: Each team will be given one 12” standard latex party balloon to serve as the only source of propulsion for the car. The car may be constructed from any materials. The balloon may be inflated by the team members to any desired volume and may be attached to the car using any means. With the front wheels of the vehicle positioned on the starting line, a team member must release the balloon without pushing the vehicle. After the vehicle has come to a complete stop, the straight-line, perpendicular distance from the starting line to the most distant front wheel of the vehicle will be measured. The width of the course will be 3.0 m. If the vehicle passes outside the boundaries of the course, the distance will be measured to the point at which this occurs.

Each team will be given two attempts, using the same balloon, with the highest traveled distance being recorded. If the balloon pops at any time, the team will forfeit any subsequent attempts (unless the balloon has an obvious defect, at the judges’ discretion).

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest measured perpendicular, straight-line distances.

Physics Connection: Newton’s third law, conservation of momentum, friction, fluid dynamics

Planning: Design, build, and test BPUV using your own balloon.

XXIX. Making Restitution: Determine the coefficient of restitution for a ball.

Materials Provided: Ball, horizontal surface, meterstick, stopwatch


Description: Teams will drop a ball onto a provided horizontal surface, making whatever

measurements deemed necessary (using only the materials provided) to determine the ball’s coefficient of restitution. Teams may perform as many drops as desired during the five-minute period, but will report a single coefficient of restitution value (to two significant figures) to the judge at the end of the five minutes.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five smallest differences between the calculated and actual coefficient of restitution for the ball.

Physics Connection: Conservation of energy, elasticity

Planning: Research coefficient of restitution and the law of conservation of energy. Practice using your own ball.

XXX. Mass Finder: Determine the unknown mass of an irregular solid using only a meterstick of known mass, a fulcrum and stand, and thread.

Materials Provided: One meterstick of known mass, fulcrum, fulcrum stand, thread, irregularly shaped solid.


Description: Students will determine the unknown mass using only the above materials. No additional materials may be used.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams having the five lowest differences between their determined mass and the actual mass of the object (to the nearest 0.01 g).

Physics Connection: Center of gravity and torque

Planning: Practice with your own materials.

XXXI. Keep it Hot!: Design and build insulating material to minimize the temperature reduction of a given quantity of hot water.

Materials Provided: Standard 250 mL laboratory beaker containing approximately 200 mL of hot (near boiling) water, Vernier stainless steel temperature probe, beaker tongs.


Description: A temperature probe will be placed in the beaker of hot water while it is still in contact with the heat source (hot plate). When temperature data collection begins, teams must remove the beaker from the heat source with the provided beaker tongs and place it into their designed insulation chamber. The water must remain in the provided beaker at all times. The chamber must provide access for a Vernier stainless steel temperature probe to be inserted in the water to monitor the temperature at all times. At the end of a four minute time period, the

http://www.vernier.com/probes/tmp-bta.html

difference between the highest and lowest recorded temperatures during the four-minute interval will be determined.

All components of the insulating chamber must be at room temperature prior to the event. No part of the insulating material may be added to the beaker until after it has been removed from the heat source. No external sources of energy may be used to warm the chamber, including but not limited to chemical reactions, electrical devices, and human body contact. The insulation chamber must be free-standing. Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest temperature differences.

Physics Connection: energy transfer (conduction, convection, radiation)

Planning: Design, build, and test insulation chamber.

XXXII. Gutter Floater: Predict the rise in height of water in a cylindrical container when a floating bowling ball is placed in it.

Materials Provided: Scale, bowling ball, cylindrical glass container, water, ruler, marker, string


Description: Teams will measure the weight of a bowling ball and any other relevant dimensions of the ball and/or a cylindrical container which has been partially filled with water. They will then predict the height of the water level in the container after the bowling ball has been lowered into it, floating in the water. They will mark the predicted water level on the side of the container. The judge will then lower the ball into the container, and the actual water level will be determined. Note that the finger holes will likely fill with water during this process.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest differences between the predicted and actual water levels. Any ties will be broken by favoring teams with the lowest time taken to make the prediction (place mark on container).

Physics Connection: Archimedes Principle

Planning: Practice with your own ball and container.

XXXIII. Coathook Cannon: Predict the landing point of a projectile fired from a coathook cannon.

Materials Provided: Coat hanger, 19 mm diameter brass sphere with 3 mm diameter hole, launch frame, tape measure, meterstick, target, carbon paper


Description: A coat hanger will be bent into the shape shown below and supported from the support bar on the launch frame. The coat hanger hook will be bent so that its end is horizontal when the hanger is suspended vertically, as shown below. The end of the hook will be inserted into the hole on the brass sphere. Teams will then rotate the hanger to raise the sphere to some specified (varied for each team) height above the table (holding onto the sphere so it doesn’t fall off). The hanger and sphere will then be released, allowing the sphere to move with the rotating hanger until it strikes the stop bar of the launch frame. At this point, the sphere will be launched horizontally as a projectile, over the edge of the table, to a point where it strikes the floor. Before releasing the sphere, teams must predict the position where the sphere will strike the floor and place a target line at this location (perpendicular to the ball’s path). Carbon paper will be placed over the target so the judge can determine where the sphere actually strikes the floor.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest

sphere

Support bar

Stop bar

Launch frame

perpendicular distances from the target line to the actual point of impact (only one attempt will be given).

Physics Connection: Conservation of energy, projectile motion

Planning: Research equations for energy conservation and projectile motion. Practice using your own materials.

XXXIX. Faraday Pickup: Given a 6 volt DC power supply, design and build an electromagnet which will lift the greatest mass of paper clips.

Materials Provided: 6 volt, 2 amp DC power supply, paper clips


Description: Team members must design and build an electromagnet (using their own materials) which will operate at 6 V and suspend paper clips. The power supply will be set for 6 V prior to connection to the electromagnet (any drop below 6 V due to internal resistance will not be corrected). The electromagnetic may not consist of any permanent magnets. Also, the paper clips must either be suspended below a surface or be attached to a vertical surface. The paper clips may not rest above a surface. Also, surfaces used to attach paper clips may not use adhesives, hooks, or any other fasteners (i.e., only magnetic forces are permissible). The only source of power permitted is the provided 6 volt supply.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the top five total masses of suspended paper clips. Physics Connection: Electromagnetism

Planning: Review factors affecting magnetic field intensity of a solenoid, build and test electromagnet.

XL: Mentos Powered Car: Design and build a vehicle powered by a diet carbonated beverage of your choice that travels the greatest linear distance.

Materials Provided: Course, tape measure, stopwatch, safety glasses

Time Limit: 2 minutes to prepare vehicle for launch

Description: The vehicle may be constructed from any materials of your choosing, but its only source of power may be a maximum of two liters of any diet, carbonated beverage and any number of Mentos (any flavor). You must bring both the beverage and the Mentos along with you to the games. The beverage may remain in the original packaging or may be transferred to different tank(s). The vehicle may not be pushed or nudged at any time (must start and continue moving forward under its own power).

The course will consist of a concrete sidewalk with an approximate width of 1.8 m. The vehicle will be released from rest behind a starting line by team members who must be wearing safety glasses (team members may wish to wear rain gear). If the vehicle runs off the sidewalk at any point, the perpendicular distance will be measured from the starting line to a line perpendicular to the edge of the sidewalk where the car first crosses out of bounds. Otherwise, the perpendicular distance will be measured from the starting line to the line perpendicular to the edge of the sidewalk at the farthest point on the car when it stops moving. In the event that the car travels the entire length of the sidewalk (approximately 25 m), the time taken to complete the course will determine the winner (low time wins). Only one attempt will be permitted.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams completing the entire course in the shortest time period. In the event that 5 teams do not complete the course, place awards will be given to teams with the greatest measured perpendicular distances.

Physics Connection: fluid dynamics, conservation of momentum

Planning: Build and test your vehicle

XLI. Weigh Up High: Build a structure out of plastic drinking straws that supports the maximum load at the greatest height.

Materials Provided: 50 plastic drinking straws, five 100-g slotted masses, scissors, 1-meter strip of masking tape (1” width)

Time Limit: 5 minutes to construct structure and support masses

Description: A structure will be built (on-site) using only the provided straws and tape. Students will have 5 minutes to build the structure and attach as many of the five slotted 100-g masses to the structure as desired. At the end of the five minutes, the structure must stand for an additional one minute without collapsing. The height of the structure will be measured from the floor to the lowest point of any attached mass.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the highest score S as determined by the following equation:

S=MH2

where M = total number of attached massesH = measured height from floor to lowest point of any

attached mass

Physics Connection: deformation of solids (stress and strain), static equilibriumPlanning: Practice using your own materials. XLII. It’s Electric: Attach a dozen latex balloons to a single team member using only static electricity.

Materials Provided: 12 unused balloons


Description: Team members must run from the starting line to the location of the balloons, inflate and tie the balloons, and using only static electricity produced by friction, attach all of them to one of the team members. No other apparatus/devices may be used to inflate the balloons. The team member may not use any part of his body to help hold any of the balloons in place. All 12 balloons must remain attached for a minimum of 5 seconds. Timing will begin at the signal given for the team members to cross the starting line and will end at the duration of the 5 seconds.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest times to attach the balloons.

Physics Connection: Electrostatics

Planning: Practice inflating, tying, and charging balloons using your own materials.

XLIII. There’s a Hole in My Bucket: Fill an elevated bucket with water to the correct level so that the water projects from a hole in the sidewall and strikes a target on the floor.

Materials Provided: One bucket with hole in sidewall, water, ruler, tape measure, and collection tray with coordinate system


Description: A three-gallon bucket with a ¼” diameter hole drilled through its sidewall (near the bottom) will be placed on a table surface at some specified height above the floor. The horizontal distance from the hole to a location on the floor (the target) will be given. Teams will position the origin of a coordinate system on the floor at the given location of the target and then place a transparent collection tray directly over it. Teams must determine the required depth of water in the bucket so that when the hole is unplugged, the water will project out the side of the bucket and strike the collection tray at the location of the target. After the team has filled the bucket, the judge will unplug the hole and measure the horizontal distance between the coordinate system origin and the point where the water actually strikes the floor.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams having the five lowest distances between the coordinate system origin and the point where the water strikes the floor.

Physics Connection: Projectile motion, Bernoulli’s equation, conservation of energy.Planning: Practice with your own bucket.XLIV. Aquarium Shoot: Predict where a laser beam will strike a wall after passing through a water-filled aquarium.

Materials Provided: Laser, protractor, tape measure, string


Description: The judges will direct a laser beam to strike the sidewall of a water-filled aquarium, as show below. The laser will initially be turned off. Teams may use a protractor and/or string to measure the angle at which the beam strikes the sidewall. Teams will then determine the direction at which the beam will emerge from the top of the aquarium. Using this information along with the provided horizontal distance from the aquarium to the wall, they will predict the vertical location on the wall where the beam will strike it, and place a target there. The judge will then turn on the laser and determine the position of the center of the beam where it actually strikes the wall.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest vertical distances from the target location to the center of the refracted beam pattern on the wall.

Physics Connection: Refraction, Snell’s law

Planning: Practice with your own laser and aquarium, review geometry and trigonometry required

XLV: The Vortex Cannon: Construct a device that produces a donut-shaped air pulse that will travel the greatest distance with the most accuracy.Materials Provided: Five lighted candles, tape measureTime Limit: 1 minute at each firing location

Description: Teams must construct a vortex cannon prior to the games. There are no limitations on construction materials, but the device must be fully supported and operated by a single team member. Commercially produced vortex cannons may not be used. A simple model can be made from an empty coffee can by cutting a hole in the bottom and placing the plastic lid on the top. By striking the lid, air pulses can be directed out of the hole.

aquarium

wall

To test the cannon, five candles will be placed approximately 20 cm apart on a lab table. The team member operating the cannon will begin by standing 1.5 m from the table. From a single standing location, he/she will have seven tries (within a time limit of one minute) to extinguish all five candles. If the team member is successful, he/she will move to a fixed location 2.0 m from the table and repeat the process. This will continue at 0.5 m increments until fewer than five candles are extinguished from a given location. Substitution of team members will be permitted only when moving to a new location away from the table.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest total numbers of candles extinguished.

Physics Connection: Waves and fluid dynamics

Planning: Build and test your vortex cannon.

XLVI. Egg Slug: Package an egg such that after being struck by a baseball bat, it travels the greatest linear distance while remaining unbroken.

Materials Provided: One large, raw chicken egg, one T-ball tee, one baseball bat

Time Limit: A maximum of four minutes will be allowed to insert the egg in the package and prepare it for competition.

Description: One team member will place the package on the T-ball tee and, using the baseball bat, attempt to move the package the greatest linear distance from the tee using a single swing (if the bat does not contact any part of the package, the swing may be repeated). Each team will be given only one attempt. The package must be opened and the unbroken egg produced within two minutes of impact with the ground.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the entries which travel the greatest linear distance (remaining unbroken) as measured from the edge of the base of the tee nearest the landing point to the nearest point of the package at its final resting position. Any team whose egg cracks will be disqualified from this event.

Physics Connection: Impulse and momentum

Planning: Design, build, and test package to house egg.

XLVII. Hovercraft: Design and build a model hovercraft that will sail a racecourse carrying the maximum possible load in the shortest possible time.

Materials Provided: Racecourse, 20” circular fan, optional 12 VDC power supply

Time Limit: Four minutes to prepare hovercraft for launch and run course

Description: Contestants will design and build a hovercraft using a maximum of two computer cooling fans (must operate at a maximum of 12 VDC and have a maximum diameter of 120 mm). The fan(s) may be powered by an onboard battery pack, an external power supply with trailing wires you provide, or a provided external power supply with trailing wires (from the olympic committee). The hovercraft must be constructed by the contestants themselves and may not consist mainly or exclusively of any sort of pre-purchased model kit or device. The sole source of lift for the hovercraft must be the computer cooling fan(s). The hovercraft must hover; it must ride on a cushion of air produced by the operation of the cooling fan(s) at all times during the race. It must visibly rise when powered on (it may not move from the wind provided by the race course fan unless the computer fans are turned on). Supplemental wheels, bearings or other devices that reduce the effects of friction are not allowed and will result in disqualification.

The hovercraft (excluding the adapter and connecting wire) must be able to fit into a 50cm length by 50cm width by 30 cm height box at all times during the event. All parts of the hovercraft must finish the race together. Propulsion of the hovercraft can come only from the computer cooling fans or wind from the box fan provided by the organizers.

The hovercraft will race on a drag strip approximately 1 meter wide and 2 meters long on the floor. There will be an approximately 1 meter square area behind the starting line for setup of the hovercraft. An optional source of energy for propulsion of the hovercraft is provided by a standard 20” diameter circular fan at low speed 2-3 meters behind the start line. This fan is provided by the event organizers. Organizers will turn off the fan for duration of the race by request of contestants.

Teams will have a total of 4 minutes to set up and run their race. Only one trial will be allowed. No part of the hovercraft can be in front of the starting line before the start of the trial. No external intervention is allowed after the start of the trial. All parts of the hovercraft must stay in bounds during the entire race to receive a time. The timer will startwhen the hovercraft crosses the starting line and triggers the timing gate and will stop when the same part of hovercraft crosses the finish line and triggers the timing gate.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest scores given by the following:

Score =2*B*(m+.1)/t

m = the mass of the hovercraft (in grams), t = the time (in seconds) and B = 2 if the hovercraft has an onboard power supply, 1.5 if team provides its own external power supply, and 1 otherwise.

If the hovercraft does not cross the finish line, the final score will be modified to

Score =D*B*m/300

where D = shortest distance (in m) from the front edge of the hovercraft to the starting line. If the hovercraft goes out of bounds at any time before crossing the finish line, the shortest distance from the point at which the hovercraft exits to the starting line will be used.

Physics Connection: Fluid dynamics, Newton’s 3rd law, DC electrical systems

Planning: Design, build, and test your hovercraft.

XLVIII. The Concentrator: Construct an energy-collecting apparatus to concentrate as much energy from a provided 250-Watt heat lamp as possible into a mass of water.

Materials Provided: 250-Watt heat lamp, mounting hardware for lamp, room-temperature water, temperature probe and software, digital balance, meterstick


Description: The 250-Watt lamp will be directed downward toward the floor, with the bottom surface of the lamp positioned 1.2 m above a 1-m by 1-m square on the floor. The constructed “concentrator” must remain within the boundaries of this square. The heat lamp must be the only energy source used to heat the water. No part of the concentrator (including the container of water) may be more than 0.9 m above the floor. All parts of the apparatus must remain within an imaginary 1 m by 1m by 0.9 m bounding box, as shown below.

The concentrator apparatus may be made from any material, except for the water container, which must be an empty 35-mm film canister. You must provide your own film container. The container must be easily removable from the apparatus. The container will be filled with room-temperature water, whose mass, m, and temperature, Ti, will be measured. The container

will then be returned to the apparatus, the lamp turned on, and the clock started. After 3 minutes, the container will be removed from apparatus and shook to minimize temperature variations. The final temperature, Tf, will be then be immediately measured. The distance, d, from the bottom of the lamp to the nearest point on the container will also be measured. The team score will be determined by the following formula:

Score=m (T f −T i )d2

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest scores.

Physics Connection: Thermal radiation, optics

Planning: Practice with your own lamp and concentrator apparatus

XLIX. Power Lifter: Using wind power provided by a fan, design a device to lift a 200-gram load through a vertical distance of approximately one meter in the least time.

Materials Provided: One non-commercial 20” fan, 200-gram load, string, pulleys and mounting hardware

Time Limit: One minute to prepare load for lifting

Description: A 20” non-commercial fan will be placed on the floor with its air flow directed horizontally towards the team’s power lifter. The power lifter must be located at least 30 cm from the front surface of the fan, which may be located on any side of the power lifter. Each team will be given a 2.5-m length of string. One end of the string will be tied to the load, and the other end will pass over two pulleys and connect to the team’s power lifter, as shown below.

The power lifter must be connected to the string in such a way that the string is under tension when it is connected to the load, before the fan is turned on. The string may be connected to the power lifter using any means desired. The power lifter may be constructed from any commonly

200 g mass

power lifter

fan1 m

30.0 cm

30.0 cm

available materials, but must use the provided wind flow as its only power source. The size of the power lifter must be small enough so as to not obstruct the load as it is being lifted (load is cylindrical with a diameter of approximately 3.5 cm).

Once the fan has been turned on, its position may not be altered. The load must be lifted the entire vertical distance to the pulley to qualify. The time required for the load to be lifted will be measured. Each team will be given just one attempt to lift the load.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest times to lift the load.

Physics Connection: Torque, work, power, energy, fluid dynamics

Planning: Design, build, and test power lifter using your own fan, load, and pulleys.

L. Mirror Madness: Direct a horizontal laser beam into a small vertical cylindrical aperture using a system of three plane mirrors in the shortest period of time.

Materials Provided: Laser, cylindrical aperture photo-detector, computer timing apparatus, two 30 cm x 30 cm plane mirrors, one 7 cm x 5.5 cm plane mirror


Description: A laser beam will be oriented in a horizontal plane as shown below. A cylindrical photo-detector will be oriented in a vertical plane behind and above the laser. The laser beam must reflect off of all three plane mirrors (and no additional materials) to direct the laser beam into the photo-detector. The mirrors may be placed at any desired position or angular orientation. The beam must enter the detector parallel to the cylinder to be detected. A computerized timing device will be started with all five team members located behind a pre-determined starting line and automatically stopped when the beam strikes the photo-detector. At no time should the laser beam be directed into the eyes of any team member or judge.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five lowest times to strike the photo-detector.

Photo-detector

Laser

Physics Connection: Law of Reflection

Planning: Practice with your own laser and mirrors.

LI. MPAV (Mousetrap Powered Aquatic Vessel): Build an aquatic vehicle that will travel the longest straight-line distance using only the power provided by a mousetrap spring.

Materials Provided: One mousetrap (must be obtained from the Olympic committee), water-filled trough

Time Limit: Two minutes to prepare boat for launch

Description: All construction must be completed prior to the event. The only energy source permitted is the mousetrap spring, which may be altered in any way. The vehicle must float in the water for the entire run in a 29.5 cm diameter semicircular cross-section trough. The water depth at the center of the trough will be 11 cm. The vehicle’s drive mechanism must be designed so that it does not remain in contact with any part of the trough. The vehicle must travel as a complete unit (the mousetrap must travel with the boat). The vehicle may not push off of the end of the trough to get started. Each team will be given only one attempt.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five longest straight-line distances before all moving parts in the vehicle’s drive mechanism have stopped (any additional distance covered will be ignored). This distance will be determined by subtracting the beginning and ending positions of a fixed point on the vessel. In the event that several entries travel the entire length of the 3.7 m long trough, these entries will be re-launched and the entries that travel the entire length of the trough in the least time will be the winners.

Physics Connection: Conservation of energy, Archimedes principlePlanning: Design, build, and test vehicle using provided mousetrap spring and other materials you provide.

LII. Physics House of Cards: Build a “low-cost” house of index cards to support a heavy roof (a physics text).

Materials Provided: Standard 3”x 5” index cards, staples, stapler, physics text


Description: Using only provided index cards, staples, and stapler, build a house to support a physics text (roof). The roof must be supported so that its lowest point is at least 16 cm above the floor. The entire structure must be freestanding for at least 10 seconds. Each index card costs $1, each staple costs $1, and each fold placed on an index card costs $1. Items purchased from the “store” may not be returned for refund (i.e., at the end of the 5 minutes, you will be “billed” for all items used and folds made for all attempts, failed or successful). Items from a failed attempt may be reused, but you will be charged for additional folds. If your house does not meet

the minimum height and time requirements during the 5 minutes, you will be disqualified from this event.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams having the five lowest total expenses for the Physics House of Cards.

Physics Connection: Center of gravity, stability

Planning: Practice with your own materials.

LIII. You're in Hot Water Now!: Design a system which will heat a given volume of water to the highest temperature.

Materials Provided: Container filled with water at room temperature, 6 volt DC power supply, connecting wires, temperature probe


Description: A cylindrical, aluminum container (diameter = 10 cm, height = 13 cm) will be filled with 500 ml of water at room temperature. A temperature probe placed in the water will monitor its temperature continuously for five minutes, during which time its temperature will be attempted to be raised. Only electrical devices designed to operate at 6.0 volts, mechanical devices at room temperature, or non-thermal energy provided by team members may be used. No additional substances may be added to the liquid. Note: Any process involving chemical reactions (remember, this is the physics olympics) may not be used. This would include propane torches, chemicals for exothermic reactions, or any other combustion process. The filled container will be massed at the beginning and end of the heating process to determine amount of water lost.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the highest temperature changes, based upon the initial and final temperature averages. Note that any team losing more than 15.0 ml of water during the heating process will be disqualified.

Planning: Practice various electromechanical methods of heating water.

LIV: Filizzi’s Last Span: Build a bridge out of balsa wood and glue having the highest load to mass ratio.

Materials Provided: Balsa wood, testing apparatus

Time Limit: 1 minute to locate bridge on support

Description: Using only balsa wood and your own glue (any type may be used), build a free-

standing bridge to span two supports which have been placed 30 cm apart. The bridge must have a flat, horizontal surface that will support a 250 mm x 55 mm x 6 mm roadbed surface which will be placed on it during testing. The overall height of the bridge may not exceed 100 mm, including a maximum optional underhang of 20 mm (below the bridge supports). The overall width of the bridge may not exceed 10 cm. The bridge must also be able to accommodate a 13 mm diameter test rod which will be inserted vertically from the bottom through the center of the road bed. A fixed quantity of balsa wood (1/8” x 1/8”) will be provided to each team. You may purchase additional balsa wood at your discretion. However, the wood may not be treated in any way to alter its strength or appearance. Glue may be used only at the joints between pieces of wood. Any bridges not meeting the above specifications will be disqualified from the competition.

The overall mass of each bridge will be measured. The bridge will then be fitted with the road bed and placed in the testing apparatus. The test rod will be inserted through the center of the road bed and attached to the test plate. An automated process will then begin pulling downward on the test plate, measuring the applied force. The force will be increased to the point at which bridge failure occurs (the point at which the resistance force suddenly decreases). The maximum force applied before failure will then be recorded.

Test Plate

Test Rod

20 mm max

100 mm max

30 cm

Testing Apparatus

Road Bed

250 mm

55 mm13 mmdiameter hole

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest maximum force to bridge mass ratios.

Physics Connection: Static equilibrium

Planning: Research various bridge designs and build/test bridge.

LV. MPTR : (Mousetrap Powered Truck Race): Construct a four-wheeled vehicle, using only the energy supplied by an intact mousetrap, which will transport the greatest load and have the greatest average acceleration over the first two meters of its motion.

Materials Provided: mousetrap

Time Limit: 3 minutes, for two releases of the vehicle

Description: Teams must construct a mousetrap powered, four-wheeled vehicle. The only acceptable source of energy to drive the vehicle is the elastic potential energy (no falling weights, etc.) from the spring in the provided mousetrap, which must remain intact. The vehicle can be made from any materials, which you provide, so long as they do not provide additional energy. The vehicle must remain attached to the mousetrap at all times. Teams will locate their vehicle such that the first part of it which will trigger the laser timer is just behind the laser beam. The second laser beam will then be located two meters from this point and must be blocked by the same point on the vehicle as the first laser beam. Touching or influencing the vehicle after release (i.e., blowing on it) shall result in a disqualification for that release. The vehicle will be released by pressing an unsharpened wooden pencil eraser on the release mechanism by a team member. During the three-minute period, teams may release the vehicle as many as two times, with the best time for the two releases being recorded. The total mass of the truck will also be recorded.

Judging: First through fifth place awards will be given to the teams with the five highest truck mass to course completion time ratios, with the highest ratio for each team being considered.

Physics Connection: Conservation of mechanical energy, acceleration

Planning: Build vehicle and test methods of achieving the greatest acceleration.

LVI. Olympic Visual/Musical Arts: Produce an 18”-22” poster or compose and produce a musical recording that promotes the study of physics and/or the physics Olympics.

Materials Provided: None

Time Limit: None

Description: This is an optional event, which will provide the top teams with additional team points, as outlined in “The Olympic Events” table. Posters must measure 18” x 22.” Songs must be between one and three minutes in length and recorded as a CD audio file. All items must be turned into the committee (room 215 or 217) by Wednesday, February 15. They will be judged prior to the games and displayed/played as deemed appropriate by the Olympic committee. They may use any artistic style of presentation to accomplish the goal of promoting the study of physics. Teams must choose either a poster or a song (they may not submit both). Posters or songs containing or implying profanity or inappropriate dress will be disqualified.

Judging: Posters will be judged based upon the following criteria:

workmanship (choice of color, quality of artwork, etc.): 25 pts. creativity of design: 25 pts.promotional value (compelling message): 25 pts.

Songs will be judged based upon the following criteria:

promotional value of lyrics: 25 pts. musical/recording quality: 25 pts. Creativity: 25 pts.

First through third place awards will be given to the teams with the top three scores for their artistic creation.

Physics Connection: Promote the study of physics.

Planning: Design and create poster or song.

dallastown area high school · web viewphysics house of cards 5 no at games 5 4 3 2 1 you’re in...

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